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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24513901">Twisting Vines</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bewaretheboojum/pseuds/bewaretheboojum'>bewaretheboojum</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Robin (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, M/M, Minor Violence, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:34:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,532</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24513901</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bewaretheboojum/pseuds/bewaretheboojum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for JayTimWeek 2020 Prompt - Fairy Tale</p><p>Fantasy AU - Jason is a nomad traveling through plains lands when he gets lost in a dust storm. Moments from death, Jason is whisked away by a mysterious creature...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tim Drake/Jason Todd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>116</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>JayTimWeek</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Twisting Vines</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Endless thanks to Silver_Snow_77 for the crash course on horses and naming Jason's dear sweet Zypher.</p><p>Thank so much to FictionSuit and SiennaCitrine for the beta help and teaching me basic geography. </p><p>You guys are all amazing. &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jason coughed, swallowing around a dry mouth. The wind kicked up gritty dust, blowing it up all around him. Lifting an arm, Jason tried to protect his face and nose from the worst of the grit.</p><p>Huddled behind the slumped  form of his mare, Jason tried to shelter from the arid heat. The sun was high and even the shade from nearby boulders was disappearing as a cool morning faded into a hot afternoon.</p><p>The large red rock formations blurred over Jason as he looked up to see the progress of the sun. Soon it would be at its zenith and there would be no shelter from its heat.</p><p>Fingering his waterskin, Jason opened the cap and desperately sucked at the opening, hoping for a few more drops of water.</p><p>There had been a windstorm three days ago; it had kicked up gusts of sand so thick Jason couldn’t see a foot in front of him. Jason and his mare, Zephyr, had lost their way in the storm. The storm schedules kept by the storm-watchers of his tribe had no notations for the one that rose up, so he had been caught unawares, alone on the sands with inadequate provisions.</p><p>Jason's tribe was largely nomadic. They had ranged across the steppe for generations, tents bound to the backs of their mares as they followed the seasons and the storms across the plains. He had years of experience traveling through the scrublands, but now he struggled to find food and water for himself and his mare. He found a cactus with some moisture in its meat yesterday; it was what allowed him and Zephyr to survive this long.</p><p>But now...</p><p>Jason wasn't sure he and his mare would last the rest of the day.</p><p>Licking at dry lips, Jason watched hopelessly as the sun rose higher and higher. Zephyr’s breathing became more and more labored and Jason began to see images in the sand. Figures danced before him, shadowed and hazy in the bright sunlight. The red rocks melted away and the sun grew dimmer and dimmer overhead and then...</p><p>Then everything went black.</p><p>The thing Jason hated most about falling unconscious was losing all sense of time. He hated waking suddenly and not knowing if minutes, hours, or days have passed. The disorientation bled into a gnawing fear. </p><p>Jason woke to the feel of cool water running along his overheated skin. Blinking his eyes open, Jason took a deep breath. Rather than the dry air of the desert, Jason could practically taste the water in the air as he breathed in.</p><p>When his eyes came back into focus, all Jason saw was a landscape of blurred greens.</p><p>Large trees, thick with foliage loomed over him, weeping branches trailing down to a gently flowing creek. Jason was laying half in the cool water of the brook. Underbrush, cattails and water lilies grew up around him, moving soundlessly in a gentle wind.</p><p>Sitting up in the water, Jason immediately caught sight of Zephyr contentedly drinking at the stream. Jason dipped his hand in the water and took a long drink, realizing he wasn't quite as thirsty as he would have thought he would be considering how long he had been in the sun.</p><p>He was still feeling dizzy, a little delirious. Viney growths, spouting thick leaves and colorful flowers grew up around him. As the buzzing in his ears died down, Jason could hear the susurrus rhythm of the brook and the twitter of bird song all around him.</p><p>A thick verdant forest grew up around him. It was like something Jason had only heard about in stories and read about in the scrolls the scribes kept.</p><p>"You're awake," a low, gentle, almost dreamy voice came from behind Jason. He spun to face the person and a sudden dizziness overcame him.</p><p>Bringing a hand up to his head to steady himself, Jason's vision blurred and the world slanted around him. When he finally blinked the black spots from his eyes, another man was behind him, propping him up. Cool, firm hands held him by the shoulders, helping him sit up and look around the clearing.</p><p>Jason tilted his head back to face the man and-</p><p>And Jason was suddenly not entirely sure this was a man.</p><p>The other being had calm, blue eyes. Pointed ears peeked out from under long black hair that fell around his bare shoulders. His hair was thick and dark with bright flowers and leaves loosely braided into it. The only clothing he wore was a soft dark loincloth. And his skin was pale, tinted almost green.</p><p>He was... radiant.</p><p>Almost glowing in the low light of the forest.</p><p>"What—?" Jason began but the other man frowned at him.</p><p>"How long have you been awake? I only left for a moment to get you fruit."</p><p>Reaching out to a small cloth bag nearby on the bank of the brook, the man gathered a few small fruits and presented them to Jason. They looked almost like berries but not quite. They were spherical, plump and deep purple. The man took several in his hand and held them out to Jason.</p><p>"I... thank you... but I don't think..."</p><p>"You should eat," the man said, holding the fruit out more insistently.</p><p>"What is it?"</p><p>"They are fruit. You should eat them."</p><p>"I don't... who are you?"</p><p>The man hummed softly, his expression changing from insistent to considering.</p><p>"I am called Tim by some," the man said, his voice lilting and low. He seemed uncertain as he spoke, tentative and thoughtful.</p><p>"I'm uhhh, I'm Jason. It's... nice to meet you. Did you bring me... here?"</p><p>"Yes, I did. You were close to death."</p><p>"You saved me?"</p><p>The man, Tim, hummed lyrically and the sound was thoughtful and curious.</p><p>"I saved you and your creature," Tim said, gesturing to Zephyr. "It is a magnificent creature. Though not capable of speech, I see."</p><p>"Uhhhh, no. Well, I mean she’s pretty smart for a horse, but she can’t talk."</p><p>Tim nodded in understanding, watching Jason's mare thoughtfully.</p><p>"Thank you. For saving me," Jason said, watching the man carefully.</p><p>"You are welcome," Tim said, turning his attention back to Jason, his brilliant eyes hyper-focused.  "They told me to leave you. That your death would be a mercy."</p><p>"They?"</p><p>"My people."</p><p>"You didn't... You didn't leave me, though."</p><p>"My people are beings of life. Encouraging the deaths of other beings does not become us."</p><p>"Is that it? Why you saved me."</p><p>Tim hummed again, in his soft lyrical way.</p><p>"No. Death is a part of life. It is the way of the world."</p><p>"Then... why?"</p><p>Tim looked at him thoughtfully for another long moment.</p><p>"I was curious," Tim replied simply, then held out his hand again. "You need to eat."</p><p>Jason tentatively accepted the fruit from him. He rinsed the berries in the river before eying one carefully.</p><p>"You're sure these are safe for me?" he asked.</p><p>"Other humans eat them," Tim said simply.</p><p>"They do?"</p><p>Tim nodded and Jason eyed the fruit before putting one of the smaller berries in his mouth.</p><p>It was warm and tart but a little sweet. When it burst on his tongue, the juice was delicious.</p><p>"Thank you. They are... they're good."</p><p>Tim nodded approvingly as Jason ate the rest of the fruit.</p><p>"Where are we?"</p><p>Tim shrugged and looked around the forest.</p><p>"We are here."</p><p>"Yes, where is ‘here’?" Jason asked, looking at the forest around him.</p><p>"Here is a forest," Tim said, frowning as he struggled to understand what Jason was asking.</p><p>"But where is the forest, we were in the scrublands and—"</p><p>"Here is a place between. Between... the rocks and the air and the water. Here is a place that death cannot touch. Here is a place of life. It can be in the scrublands or in the hinterlands, it can be where the frost grows or the water flows.  Here is a place between."</p><p>Jason felt his heart leap in his chest then, swallowing hard and feeling panic start to crawl up his spine.</p><p>"Am I... does that mean... am I dead then?" Jason asked, voice breathless and hoarse.</p><p>"No," Tim said, face shifting into an expression of curiosity. "I said, here is a place of life, not death. Here you come to heal."</p><p>Relief washed over Jason and he puffed out a breath.</p><p>"You healed me, then?"</p><p>"You and your creature. Your creature is lovely."</p><p>Jason huffed out a laugh and nodded.</p><p>"Yes, she's great. And when I am healed? What then?"</p><p>"When you are healed you will return home," Tim said, matter of factly. </p><p>"To the place where you found me?" Jason asked, nervously.</p><p>"I will return you to your people," Tim said authoritatively. "You will be safe there."</p><p>"I... Thank you," Jason said, trying to smile at Tim.</p><p>Tim didn't smile back, his face calm and his dark blue eyes deep with mystery.</p><p>"I have... we spend little time with humans and I..."</p><p>"You're curious," Jason said, finally sitting up and moving away from Tim.</p><p>His long hair had come undone from its bun and Jason pulled it back off his face.It was soaking wet with spring water and Jason did his best to get as much water as he could out of it.</p><p>"I... Yes."</p><p>Tim settled in next to Jason then, asking questions and occasionally curiously trailing his fingers across Jason’s freckles or the hair on his stomach. Jason shivered at his touch, his fingers feeling cooler, softer than any human he knew. As they spoke Jason found himself growing tired and before long, he had drifted off back to sleep with Tim watching him closely. </p><p>^*^*^*^*^*</p><p>Jason sat alone as noises from the nearby camp faded into a distant tangle of familiar sounds. The sun was setting in a pool of dark red and rich orange light far off on the horizon. Jason watched as the clouds faded from pink to a darker purple while the sun moved lower and lower in the sky. </p><p>Taking a deep breath, Jason felt the arid air of the plains buffet around him as the wind picked up in the chill of the night. </p><p>When the drums sounded, heralding the end of the elder's meeting, Jason turned back to the camp. Only one man exited the tent, peering across the flat expanse of the camp, looking for Jason. </p><p>Raising his hand, Jason beckoned to the elder then turned back to face the sunset. </p><p>Jason felt...</p><p>Better than he had any right to feel, all things considered. </p><p>He had been lost on the scrublands for days without food or water. When Jason  had returned to camp that morning, some of the members of his tribe whispered that he was a ghost. They had thought he died days ago, given him up for lost and moved their tents further out into the plains, looking for the herds of wild sheep that sustained them through the later summer months. </p><p>They were right. </p><p>Jason should be dead right now, a ghost haunting the night, scaring young hunters and small children who wandered too far in search of dung to light their family's fires. </p><p>The council took him into their circle when he came back to camp. They asked him how he had survived. When Jason told them of the place between, of the water and the fruit and the being called Tim, they had grown silent, wary. They had sent him from the tent so they could convene and discuss. </p><p>When he left, looking for a cornmeal cake or a bowl of cooked grains, no one offered him food or made him welcome at their campsites. They all eyed him warily but didn’t speak. No matter how much Jason had shared with these families during the winter before, they made no space for him now. </p><p>So Jason and his mare had made their way to the edge of the camp to sit on a rock and wait. They waited all through the day, as the sun rose to its zenith and set in the west. </p><p>Light and gentle footsteps came up behind Jason as Kal, a member of the council, came to sit behind Jason on the rock. </p><p>"The sunset is lovely tonight," Kal said to Jason, looking off towards the reddening sun.</p><p>"It is," Jason agreed simply.</p><p>The silence stretched between them, long moments lost in the swirl of wind and the darkening night. </p><p>"It took some time for the council to come to a decision..." Kal ventured at last, his voice low and tentative.</p><p>"I am cast out," Jason said bitterly. "Bruce couldn't bear to tell me himself so you’ve come to make me leave."</p><p>"I... No," Kal said, his voice soft and soothing. He turned to face Jason then, his blue eyes deep with sympathy. "That's not it at all."</p><p>"What then?" Jason asked, swallowing hard and trying to brace himself for what was to come next.</p><p>He was so busy trying to read Kal's expression in the low light of the sunset that he didn't even hear Bruce's footsteps until he was very close. </p><p>Jason looked up at Bruce, feeling equal parts surprised and bitter. </p><p>Bruce's face was neutral as he looked down at Jason. He sat down gracefully next to Jason and Kal, configuring them almost like a triangle.</p><p>The expression on Bruce's face was as unreadable as Kal's, though Jason knew Bruce probably better than anyone. Bruce had been the one to find him when he was just a child, wandering alone after his mother had died. He had taken Jason in, trained him to be a hunter, a fighter, a provider. They had shared a tent and a fire for nearly as long as Jason could remember. </p><p>"Well?" Jason pressed, eyeing them both, a feeling of panic creeping up his spine as he watched the two of them. </p><p>"We have convinced the council that your interaction with the fae would not bring harm to our tribe," Kal explained. "It was difficult, but they finally agreed."</p><p>"You're not telling me everything, though," Jason said, eyeing them both and swallowing hard. He wanted to feel relief but worry still roiled in his gut. </p><p> "It has been decided that you owe a life debt," Bruce said, his voice low and gruff. "To the fae."</p><p>"A life debt?" </p><p>While Jason had only ever heard of one through old stories, he was unsure of what the implications might be.</p><p>Bruce puffed out a low breath and shook his head.</p><p>"They are an old tradition," Kal put in, looking off into the distance with an almost dreamy expression on his face. As if he was thinking back to a time long past.</p><p>"They are a tradition established when tribes of the steppe spent more time warring than trading, as we do now," Bruce explained.  </p><p>"How does it work?"</p><p>"From my understanding," Bruce said slowly. "When one warrior saved the life of the other in battle, the rescued warrior owed the other a life debt. The warriors then worked together to protect each other. To keep each other safe and feed each other. They were brothers in arms, protectors."</p><p>"How can I owe this life debt to a fae? I don't even know how to find him."</p><p>Bruce and Kal eyed each other thoughtfully.</p><p>"Zatanna says..." Kal began, and then took a deep breath as if unable to think of how to finish the sentence.</p><p>"Zatana says that you smell of fae magic. That the creature marked you so he could find you later."</p><p>"Marked.. me...?" Jason stammered, suddenly feeling a little more afraid than he had before. </p><p>"She's working on a spell now that—" Kal tried to explain but broke off when the wind kicked up all around them. It was as if a small tornado circled them, dust swirling and wind raging. Jason shut his eyes against it, holding his arm up to his face to cover his nose and mouth from the gusting grit. </p><p>And then, as suddenly as the wind began it stopped, leaving silence except for the coughs and heavy breathing of Jason, Kal and Bruce. </p><p>Jason rubbed at the grit in his eyes but when he heard Bruce gasp, breathy and low, he blinked them open.</p><p>That was when he saw the light. </p><p>Little glowing paths of green and blue circling up his arm and across his shoulders. An eerie light that painted his skin with a cool gentle glow.</p><p>"What—" Jason gasped, staring down at his arms in fear and alarm. </p><p>"I asked Zatana..." Bruce began and then he trailed off shaking his head.</p><p>"Bruce wanted to see it. The mark the fae left. He told Zatana to make it visible so we knew for sure," Kal explained.</p><p>Jason felt...</p><p>He felt like he should be sick right now. He knew his stomach should roil and his mind should rebel at the thought of anyone marking him. </p><p>But...</p><p>The cool glow of the vines of light tangling up his arms and down his stomach felt... soothing, in a way. Jason could almost feel it, dancing across his skin with little bare feet. Just a feather-light whisper of touch that wasn't really there.</p><p>The same way looking into Tim's calm and curious eyes had made him feel when they had been in the place between. </p><p>"What do they mean?" Jason asked. His voice was breathier than he would have liked but right now he couldn't bring himself to care.</p><p>"We're not sure exactly. Just that it was a magic he could use to find you," Bruce explained.</p><p>"To bind us together..."</p><p>Bruce nodded then.</p><p>"That's why the elders insist on the life debt," Kal explained. "Because the fae demanded in his own way and we need to honor it." </p><p>"This doesn't mean things will necessarily change," Bruce said, his voice firm and sure now. "The fae could forget about you. By all accounts, they don't experience time in the same ways we do. By the time he remembers you, you could be long dead."</p><p>"Thanks for the reassurance," Jason said wryly, running his fingers across the paths of light on his arms. </p><p>"I'm trying to be..." Bruce began and then cut himself off with a huff. "This is the best possible scenario. You get to stay with the tribe, go on hunts, range in the plains. You get to stay with us."</p><p>Jason took a deep breath and swallowed hard, nodding. </p><p>"Yes, I... I do get that. And I appreciate you interceding with the elders on my behalf," Jason conceded. "I'm not sure it will be that easy though..."</p><p>Bruce and Kal were much in shadow now as the sun came close to setting, their expressions grim and worried. </p><p>"I saw how the tribespeople looked at me in the camps. They know I am different now, that something happened and I'm not... the same..."</p><p>"We can prove to them that—" Bruce protested.</p><p>"They're not wrong, though," Jason cut him off. "I am different.  I have changed."</p><p>Bruce's mouth tightened but Kal nodded in understanding.</p><p>"These experiences can change us, certainly," Kal said soothingly. Though whether he was trying to reassure Jason or Bruce was not immediately clear.</p><p>"I am marked," Jason said slowly. "They'll all know I'm marked come morning."</p><p>"That's very likely true," Bruce admitted. </p><p>"It's nothing to be ashamed of..." Kal pointed out. </p><p>Jason looked up at him, feeling a sudden determination. </p><p>"No. It's not," Jason said firmly, looking over at Bruce. "I won't hide it. If I am fated to a life debt, then so be it. Get your brushes, Bruce. We don't know how long Zatana's magic will last and I want to be able to see my marks when the spell is gone."</p><p>"Jason I—"</p><p>"Get your brushes."</p><p>Bruce didn't argue further.</p><p>The magic lasted just long enough for Bruce to line his skin with dark brown dyes, tinting his skin with a slow even touch. He outlined the leaves and stems of the vines, the flowers and the new growth. They tangled over his arms in brown and black paint as the light from Zatana's spell faded into the night. </p><p>^*^*^*^*^*^*</p><p>Jason's tribe had not been to war in many years. Between Bruce and Kal and the other members of the council, they had settled into something close to peace with the other tribes on the steppe. The closest thing to combat they ever experienced happened when haggling over the price of grain became heated. </p><p>In all the time Jason had been with the tribe, he had never seen any serious conflict. It had been bad, Jason knew, when Bruce and Kal were younger. They were covered in scars from long won battles. But now... </p><p>Shedding blood was nearly unheard of. </p><p>Until today. </p><p>Jason, Bruce and Kal come upon a new tribe. One they had not met before. As Bruce and Kal had spoken with their council about their trade agreements, Jason had wandered through the camp. Thoughts distant and abstract as they turned to Tim, to the cool waters of the place between.</p><p>Late summer was just beginning to fade into autumn and most of the men, including Jason, went bare-chested throughout the camp. Jason knew the dyes that painted his skin  made him stand out but he didn’t care. </p><p>Bruce had traced them over and over, reapplying the dye as soon as it began to fade, reinforcing the marks Tim had left on Jason's body.</p><p>His own tribespeople had grown used to Jason's markings. Now that the shock of his return had faded, he was welcomed back to cook fires as families happily accepted the meat he hunted. </p><p>This tribe, however, was less accepting. </p><p>The women wouldn't meet his eyes and the men regarded him with hostility. </p><p>Jason tried to look non-threatening as he made his way through their camps, examining the weave on their tents and the animal pelts they had drying in the steppe's glaring sun.</p><p>Jason knew they didn't want him there but he still wasn't expecting it when something hard and large hit him on the back of the head. </p><p>The object skidded off his skull and hit his shoulder hard. Jason went down to one knee, gasping in pain and reaching for the knife he kept at his belt. That was when two other men came up in front of him. They both carried large planks of wood and, before Jason could even draw enough breath to call for help,  they had raised them high and brought them down towards his head.</p><p>Jason braced himself for the pain, the flash of hurt and the cold feeling of shock he knew would come with it. He waited for his hearing to fade and his vision to go white and his body to slump but...</p><p>It never did.</p><p>The three men who had surrounded him suddenly stopped midmotion and then were thrown outward, as if tossed by some invisible blast. They flew yards away from Jason, hitting the ground with loud thumps as their weapons scattered. </p><p>Blinking, Jason looked up to see Tim, standing in front of him protectively. Tim was surrounded by a cool, blue, glowing light that eddied around him. His eyes flashed in anger and his sinewy muscles corded with suppressed anger. </p><p>As before, he was only wearing a thin cloth around his hips and his pale skin glowed. </p><p>That was when Jason realized he was glowing too. It was as if the line of henna caught fire and small blue flames flicked over the vines and leaves painted on his skin. </p><p>"This one is mine, humans," Tim bit out in a sibilant whisper. "You attack him, you touch him, you harm him, and I will turn your flesh into loam and your bones into rock."</p><p>The tribesmen scattered, screaming in fear as they ran in terror. </p><p>Tim turned to face Jason, reaching out a hand to help him to his feet. Jason stood unsteadily and Tim helped him catch his balance with a surprisingly strong arm. Long, thin, glowing fingers buried into his hair and suddenly the pain that throbbed at his skull and cascaded down his shoulders faded into something cool and soothing. </p><p>"Are you better now?" Tim asked, in a soft voice. He watched Jason with careful, cautious blue eyes that were both so inhuman and so endearing that Jason felt his heart stutter in his chest.</p><p>"I'm better," Jason confirmed and gave Tim a slow smile. "Thank you."</p><p>Tim nodded firmly before his eyes trailed down to the markings trailing across Jason's skin. </p><p>He ran cool, gentle fingers over the dyed skin, causing each line to glow brighter in the wake of his touch. He smiled to himself then, and Jason would have said he looked smug if that emotion wasn't so entirely human. </p><p>"I like these," Tim said, nodding down at the henna. "Now the humans know you belong to me as well."</p><p>"I—" Jason began, but broke off when Tim leaned down to press his mouth to Jason's neck, just where the vines began below the hairline behind his ear. Tim's cool, wet mouth moved over the twisting henna, licking a path down Jason's neck and to his shoulder. Nuzzling the skin there, Tim looked up at Jason, eyes so deep and possessive Jason couldn't help but shiver. </p><p>And then, just as quickly as he had appeared, Tim was gone. Vanished into the wind as the humans screamed and Bruce and Kal called to him for an explanation. </p><p>Sighing, Jason swallowed hard and turned back to the camp, not looking forward to telling Bruce and Kal what had happened.</p><p>^*^*^*^*^*</p><p>A thick puff of pungent smoke wafted up into the clear night sky when Jason threw a bundle of herbs onto the fire. Breathing the scent in deeply, Jason leaned back and listened to the sounds of the desert night around him as he tried to slip into a meditative state.</p><p>Jason had spent the past few days unable to think of anything but Tim. The image of his curious blue eyes, the expression of possessive pride on his face when the vines he left on Jason’s skin glowed bright, were burned into his mind’s eye. It was almost as if he could still feel the brush of Tim’s fingers across his skin, his warm wet mouth pressed to the column of Jason’s neck. </p><p>Jason couldn’t focus on anything but Tim. </p><p>Zatana had informed him that the only way he could summon Tim was with a very specific ritual that had not been practiced by Jason's tribe in nearly one hundred seasons. The ceremony could only be done alone, in the depths of the scrublands. It required burning herbs over a fire made of sagebrush branches. Then Jason needed to slip into a meditative state that would allow him to call out to Tim no matter which world Tim was currently traveling through.</p><p>Crossing his legs, Jason leaned back, shutting his eyes against the reddish glow of the fire. He breathed in and out, just as Zatana had shown him. The scent of sage, juniper and cinnamon were thick in the air all around him as he focused on the sounds of the steppe.</p><p>The low piping call of a saw-whet owl echoed through the landscape. Jason heard the rustling of rabbits picking through the bracken for a meal as the lonely cry of a wild dog echoed through the rock formations. </p><p>Under the scent of the herbs, Jason could smell the thick dusty musk of the scrublands. Warm rocks and sifting sand, dried wood and arid scent of the wind was all around him.</p><p>Jason thought about the heat of the steppe, even under the twinkling night sky. He thought of the cacti and the birds who hid among their spines. He thought about small gnarled trees that offered protection to the mice and lizards. He...</p><p>He heard the footsteps of a man behind him.</p><p>Eyes flying open, Jason turned to find the source of the sound. He didn't even have time to reach for his knife before he realized it had worked.</p><p>The man standing in the darkened brush was Tim.</p><p>His pale skin stood out in stark contrast to the dark night, almost glowing with a wispy green light. His loincloth fluttered in the cool night breeze and his brilliant blue eyes focused in on Jason.</p><p>"It worked," Jason breathed, getting to his feet to greet Tim.</p><p>Cocking his head to one side curiously, Tim stepped into the circle of light left by the campfire.</p><p>"Worked?" Tim asked, his lightly accented voice sounding almost lyrical to Jason.</p><p>"I... I was trying to summon you and... it worked," Jason explained, gesturing to the fire and the bundles of herbs next to him.</p><p>Tim gave him an almost affectionate smile as he shook his head.</p><p>"You did not summon me, Jason," Tim said simply, sitting down by the fire next to Jason. "You cannot summon me. You do not have the means."</p><p>"But you... I burned the herbs and you came..."</p><p>"I felt you wanting me. Needing me. Even in my own world. That is why I came."</p><p>"I— I’m glad you came," Jason said, watching Tim's expression carefully.</p><p>"Why did you want me? You are in no danger. No one has attacked you..."</p><p>Jason swallowed hard. He had prepared the speech he would give to Tim a hundred times in his head but now that he was here, the words had left him.</p><p>"I... I owe you a life debt," Jason began. "Based on the traditions of my people..."</p><p>"I know," Tim said, watching Jason with careful eyes.</p><p>"You know?"</p><p>"Yes, I have saved your life. Your life now belongs to me. This is why I keep saving you. I am obligated to protect you now."</p><p>"No," Jason protested. "I'm obligated to protect you."</p><p>Tim's expression turned wry and he smiled at Jason in a way that made his heart stutter in his chest. The lines of henna on Jason's chest and arms began to glow softly through the thickly applied ink.</p><p>"Then perhaps this means we protect each other," Tim said, placing his palms flat on the ground between the two of them and leaning in close to Jason. "We both have debts to fulfill."</p><p>"I..." Jason began and swallowed hard as he watched Tim move closer and closer. His mouth was full and red, it looked soft and damp and perfect in ways that made Jason shiver. "Yes. Both of us."</p><p>Tim huffed out a breath in quiet amusement and then leaned in again, pressing a kiss to the corner of Jason's mouth. Jason's skin glowed brighter then, as if every word Tim said stoked the cool heat of the magic beneath his skin, goading it to remind Jason who had marked him.</p><p>"What all does your debt command of you?" Tim whispered against the skin of Jason's cheek. "Just to protect me or do you also owe me your allegiance?" Tim pressed another kiss to Jason's jawline, lips trailing over the stubble that lined his jaw. "Your... obedience?"</p><p>Jason let out a low growl then; moving as if on instinct, he cupped the back of Tim’s head and pressed their mouths together. Tim's lips were just as soft as they looked. He laughed into the kiss, opening his mouth to allow Jason's tongue to push forward and dance with Tim's.</p><p>Every touch, every breath, every laugh from Tim sent Jason's senses reeling. Each kiss drove him wild, each delicate brush of Tim's fingertips made him twist with desire, each press of their skin together made Jason pant and sweat and want.</p><p>They made love on the hard,  dusty ground, heedless of the dirt, the stars shining above them as the wild dogs sang to them in the darkness.</p><p>There were moments when the twisting magic of the vines that bound Jason to Tim glowed even brighter than the fire as their passion rose and peaked.</p><p>Jason felt almost as if his body wasn't his own as they moved and rocked and writhed together, dragging passionate cries from each other.</p><p>And when it was over, Tim curled against his side, damp with sweat and sticky with their lovemaking.</p><p>"Will you... come to see me again soon?" Jason asked when they had caught their breath.</p><p>"Soon?"</p><p>Jason shook his head as he swallowed thickly and tried to think of how to say what he meant. Tim tilted his head back where it was resting on Jason's shoulder so he could look into Jason's face. His blue eyes were bright and curious as he regarded Jason. Then sleepy confusion shifted slowly into understanding and he nodded.</p><p>"Ah, you long for me when I am gone? That's why you called to me tonight. You wanted me. Needed me here with you."</p><p>All Jason could do was nod, but Tim looked pleased with his answer.</p><p>"Then I will come. Not just when you need me or are in danger. Even when I just sense you wanting me, I will come."</p><p>Jason fell asleep then, his body exhausted but still humming with Tim's magic and their lovemaking.</p>
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